Vera is such an underrated character. The rawness of his hate, anger, and depravity is boundless. The acting was brilliant. Honestly, deserves more screentime of not for the fact we all hate him which is a testament to how good he is in this role.
It is really frightening for me to see how many of the people here see this as a happy ending.
I guess technology and the hedonistic neoliberalism have found its way already into our minds.
Weren't you atleast concerned about the talk they had about people "doing everything to atleast feel something" in this sadomaso / groupsex facility? About 80-85% being already dead? About a huge technology company owning us even after our deaths? Just for the sake of hedonistic, fake emotions disguised as only what it is: binary codes?
This was, for me atleast, one of the darkest endings of any Black Mirror episode ever. It shows you exactly what the neoliberalistic idea has already done to us and will eventually still do in the future (and I thank the director and makers of Black Mirror so much for it! One of the best episodes of this show so far)
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I'm really enjoying how toned down the violence is, because it really grounds the experience. Yeeting him off a second story catwalk and onto rebar is spectacle, but a simple stab wound in a quiet encounter really drives home how high the stakes are when the violence is so mundane. When it comes without spectacle or massive budgets. It reminds people of what violence actually is and forces them to connect with the intimacy of it, and I think this is something that's been a long time coming. I'm not the type to blame media for society's ills, but I do believe it could be doing more to impress upon people the consequences and nuance of violence, and The Last Of Us is a masterclass in this kind of storytelling.
No demon action but in my eyes this is one of the best episodes; it's a little reminiscent of Negan's introduction to The Walking Dead. I never read the webcomic but I'm just hoping this show doesn't turn into another "humans are the real monsters" story and do away with the awesome demons entirely.
The show is good. My only complaint is that guy who plays Usopp. He can't act for the life of him
I cried, then I cried some more and then I cried again. I imagine how this episode will be attacked by people who didn't receive love from their parents (right wings) and I just want to fuck it. this episode alone made tlou win awards and more awards, what perfection.
Brida should be long dead by now don't know why she is still alive. I think didn't like the negotiations, why are you negotiating now when you literally breached the fortress. I also didn't like lady Athelfled being chaste. Stiora should not have gone with him too.
The intro song is weak, but other than that awesome episode looking forward to the rest.
As the end nears, the talking -- especially the exposition -- increases. We're getting a lot more "tell" and a lot less "show" at this point...
Again, they really managed to compress the story appropriately. Not only does it fit Arlong's end, but also a long epilogue part, cutting off as the crew set sails to the Grand Line.
This comes at the cost of fights. Secondary fights are anecdotal while in the manga every arc includes every crewmate fighting one of the sub villains. Even Luffy vs Arlong is pretty quickly done, making it look way easier than it should.
Apart from that and way too much Koby, it's still very close to the spirit. Good season ending, hope for more.
Some people might say it doesn't feel like Black Mirror because of the lack of the sci-fi. But to me it still is one of the best episodes of the Netflix era just based on the fact that this is a very british episode which is a quality I have been missing very much from the most recent seasons no matter how good or bad they are. Very reminiscent of the first two seasons. And it still has that social commentary which is even more important to the Black Mirror feel instead of it being sci-fi IMO.
An interesting episode about sons and chafing at the lives their father figures have thrust them into. Chris finds out that being a made man is tougher than he expected and seems to have reluctance about it despite his initial excitement once he sees the black bird. Jackie Aprille Jr. is trying to live up to his father and uncle's role and chafing at Tony and his organization.
And then Tony himself connects his fainting issues to seeing how his father made a living, and it's a big bundle of the meat, the violence, and sexualization. And then when AJ feels like he's being groomed for the same kind of life as his father, and gets leadership through violence while he's cheered on by his dad, he faints too. There's a lot of interesting parallels in the episode and it works well as a sort of sequel to Season 1's "Down Neck" that plays in the same theme of generational neglect and inherited problems.
i think some people might be missing the point. yeah they they didn't end up flying off together happily ever after, but they did both get what they both needed.
Dom is last seen sitting in the plane, passed out. this is important because earlier it stresses the point that she has basically not had any kind of meaningful sleep or rest in like 5 years. this is her finally feeling some level of peace, and being in a place where she is not afraid of the worst and able to fall asleep peacefully.
Darlene has been so co-dependent it is crippling to her when she is forced to be alone. she runs off and has a panic attack in the bathroom, but wills herself to accept that she can be ok on her own and this serves as a turning point in her growth and ability to move on and be ok whether she is alone or not. she needs to be able to be alone before she can be with someone.
edit 12/11:
also forgot to point out what i believe to be an intentional play against the stereotypical scene in which the two would have united at the last moment, with a catchy pop song to go along with it by an artist who has been arguably borrowing from the 80s in a large portion of her catalog. and from what i can recall, but i could be wrong, the fact that you hear little to no current pop music as a part of the soundtrack in any way remotely similar to how it is used in this scene, serves to support the intended play against such cliches in other films/shows.
It's okay guys. I can just rewind the episode and Trenton and Mobley will be alive!
Doctor Gorst being played as an inquisitive twink nerd is so much creepier than if they went the standard over-the-top psychotic doctor route
Probably not the worst finale possible considering the rest of this season, but I really don't get what they were going for.
Ugh. After last week's excellent episode, this was a major step down and makes me reconsider following this series. The writing was atrocious, with every other character quipping at the worst of times. (Worst offender: Sharon Carter quipping "Blam" after blowing Happy's head off.) Not only that, but the third act turn hangs on a supremely illogical and shitty character decision.
This, to me, is an example of what happens when the MCU "formula" is handled by bad writers. You get this illogical mess that thinks it's way funnier than it is. Hope this is the low point of the series and not a sign of things to come.
Another crazy old, white man as the season villain. It's all been done before.
Also, I have no idea who the woman is. Hard to be invested in this new couple.
Complete, stinking garbage. Recycled same ol story of Daryl being captured but the bad guys thinking he's cool. A complete wasted opportunity to make this group 3 dimensional and give Daryl a compelling reason to stay vs another dumb boring how are they gonna break free story, again.
Glad to see that Giancarlo Esposito is still an untouchable son of a bitch! Finally, someone to put Homelander in his place!
[5.6/10] What a pile of mush. These overlong premieres and finales are so often a chore. The Walking Dead regularly struggles with pacing and structure, so giving it extra real estate may make sense for selling time to advertisers, but does not work from a creative standpoint.
So let’s talk about the themes, heavy-handed though they may be, since they’re one of the few quasi-positives in this one. I like the idea of folks like Aaron wondering whether they are building something that lasts, or something that will be washed away by the sands of time. You get that idea in Aaron talking to his daughter, in Judith writing down the events of the community, and even in our heroes visiting the library and seeing the stores of human knowledge.
That’s the broader philosophical conflict between our heroes and The Whisperers. The Whisperers think that nature is retaking civilization, and that giving into the dead is the only way to survive and persist in the new order. Erase your identity. Embrace nothingness. That’s the Whisperer way. But our heroes are aiming for the exact opposite, to build something that can last, to hold onto the scraps of civilization leftover and create a society and a people that will be the first chapter of a much larger story.
Sure, this is The Walking Dead so that’s dramatized with hamfisted monoglues, but still! It’s an interesting idea and one the show hasn’t really explored yet.
The same can’t be said for the “should we trust outsiders or treat them with suspicion?” routine. Dante’s betrayal understandably leaves people out of sorts, wondering how someone who’s been working against them could have lived among them and befriended them and become a part of their community for months and months. The montage at the beginning of the episode does a nice job at explaining the how, but the characters still have to grapple with the why and what it means.
Unfortunately, it leads to the same old “do we close ranks and protect our own, or do we live up to our principles?” debate that the show has been having since, well, at least The Governor arc back in season 3, and arguably from the very beginning. We definitely did it with The Saviors, and I gotta say that I’m just sick of it. You can only peel that apple so many ways, and we’re hitting seeds and core at this point.
We get it. The state of nature means it’s hard to trust people, especially when resources are scarce and there’s conflict. But good lord, we’ve just done this so many times, in so many ways, that the show doesn't really have any new take on it.
What follows makes very little sense. The Dante reveal is an interesting twist less because of the shocking “he was a bad guy the whole time!” pulling of the rug out from under the audience, but more because having a prisoner who betrayed you but could also be useful and maybe even have stockholm syndrome is an interesting place to take the narrative. Of course, TWD squelches that immediately by having Gabriel kill him in a heretofore unseen rage, one that is, I guess, supposed to be motivated by his own sense of being overwhelmed and guilt at being a bad judge of character.
Mind you, that’s preceded by the weirdest, most tin-eared couples argument the show’s had in a while, which is saying something. Rosita and Gabriel don’t feel like a real couple. They don’t feel like real people. They just feel like thin cardboard stand-ins for vague, unformed ideas. Rosita is worried about the safety of herself, for her daughter’s sake, which is something. But the dialogue is so rough that it comes out jumbled and frankly, bizarre. And we’re back on the Eugene love triangle thing, which, good lord, was always kind of a misstep and feels even hinkier now.
Oh yeah, and Siddiq’s dead, which surprised me a little. I figured that Dante had a legitimate attachment to Siddiq (which the show seems to confirm), and so he would only sleeper hold him rather than suffocate him. But there goes another character who had a little extra spark to him. We have a funeral and mournful words, but it ultimately left me cold, with how much other nonsense was packed into this one.
Speaking of which, we have Aaron getting info on where the horde is from Gamma, only to lead a coalition of the willing into one of Alpha’s traps. The scene between Daryl and Carol is heartfelt and good (as most are between those two) and the visual of them surrounded by Walker hands is a cool one. But man, they all seem like idiots for falling for the trap, and the whole thing comes off as contrived.
Last but not least, we see Michonne interrogating a man named Virgil who saved Luke and got caught poking around the Oceanside camp. Danai Gurira continues to make heartbreaking monologues out of poorly written lines, but this is the storyline that succumbs the most to the show’s endless retreads of “security vs. mercy” moral debates. The arrival of someone who might be able to give them a bomb sufficient to destroy Alpha’s horde is super convenient, but at least it leads to a few good scenes with her and Virgil. (And there’s some particularly adorable scenes with Luke and Judith before the shit hits the fan as well.)
But on the whole, this is one that spends a lot of runtime to have the same sort of overextended conversations the show has during regular episodes, and with less focus and coherence. The least TWD could do if it’s not going to be good is not overstay its welcome. Trying to pack so much in like this adds more pacing problems, and despite the odd cliffhangers we get here, does little too excite me about whatever’s in store for the back half of the season.
You know it's an American show the minute they pull out religion and start that "with god on our side" stuff.
I don't care about the battle for Rick's soul. I just don't anymore. Rick's been good. He's been bad. He's been crazy. He's been sane. He's been all too trusting and all too vicious. Sure, in better hands, there would still be places to take the character, but right now it seems like The Walking Dead has exhausted the possibilities with Rick.
So what we have is a slight rehash of the Ricktatorship that began at the end of Season 2 of the show. Rick trusts his people, and dismisses the Alexandrians. In case you miss the subtlety of that, the episode hammers it home with Mischonne questioning Rick making plans without the help of the folks outside their group and Rick brushes her off, while making it explicit later in the episode when he tells Tara not to risk her life for one of "them."
And of course he gets pushback from Mischonne, from Morgan, from Tara, in addition to little reminders from Deanna and the guy who helps him put up the brace that even if the Alexandrians are still a bit green and naive, they're hopeful, helpful, and willing to learn. The obvious trajectory is that at some point, like the literal walls around their compound, the walls Rick has erected around himself and his ground will come tumbling down, and he will accept that the locals are worthy of his trust and acceptance. But I just can't be bothered to care about it. We've seen him do this dance a dozen times over the course of six seasons, and there's just not enough shades to Rick or Andrew Lincoln's performance to make this go-around stand out.
And hey, Glenn is alive! And just in time to have a tedious discussion about what they're living for with Enid! His survival is a complete and total cheat, that doesn't match up with anything we know about the zombie hordes in this behave. But you know what? It doesn't really bother me. This show has always been remarkably inconsistent with how the walkers function, and has used more than a few narrative loopholes to handwave the survival of important characters. At this point in the series, you're either on board with it or you're not. I'd be lying if I said I liked that tack, but that's what the show is, and I've come to accept it.
What I struggle with more are the endless, repetitive, never-ending conversations between characters about what use there is living in this shattered civilization. Sure, Enid's feelings are completely justified and motivated by what she's been through, but just like Rick, we've seen distraught and fatalistic characters so many times that just having those same sentiments come from a young girl without anything to distinguish them doesn't render them new or different. It just makes them a dull rehash with a new, preteen coat of paint.
Thankfully there's Lennie James as Morgan to raise the quality of the episode with the quality of his acting alone. Morgan joins other characters like Mischonne and Carol as being able to convey a conflicted and compelling inner life even when the characters aren't vocalizing their thoughts, or worse yet, are having to spit out the show's frequently clunky dialogue. Lennie James portrays Morgan's inner turmoil so convincingly--a man caught between the philosophy that saved him from madness and the necessities of the moment--that it elevates any episode he's in.
By the same token, Carol has less to do, but her brief conversation with Jesse's son Sam was also quietly revealing of Carol's own concerns about whether she's turned into a monster, whether she's hewed too far toward hardness she embraced after the deaths of her husband and daughter, of what she believes is required to survive in the new world. It's a character beat the show touched on in "JSS", and Melissa McBride does a great job at selling both Carol's steely determination and her silent self-questioning.
Then there's Ron, who has been very blatantly set up by the show to be seeking revenge against Rick and Carl, and the show all but attaches a flashing neon sign to that effect in this episode. I don't particularly care for Ron. The kid has Dawson's Creek-level acting skills and his storyline is a little too written-on-the-screen for my tastes.
But it does have one interesting angle to it. The Grimes boys almost have it coming. I'm not saying they deserve to be shot or killed or anything, but Carl acts like a superior prick during the shooting lesson, whether he means to or not, and Jesse was right when she told Rick that it's overstepping his bounds to take a paternal role with Ron after he killed Ron's father, whether or not Rick means well or Ron's dad deserved it. If there's one interesting new place the show could take with Rick, it would be to make him an out-and-out villain, but this is, sadly, the closest we're likely to get.
The episode touches on other stories here and there. Rosita goes drill sergeant on Eugene at the Alexandria machete class in a scene that was fairly cliche but at least dovetailed with the episode's theme of why we live and why we fight. Father Gabriel's cold war with Rick continues, and is sure to come to some kind of head--perhaps as the focal point of RIck's inevitable turn to learning to trust others (including the Alexandrians) again--but for now just sits in the background. Denise is growing in confidence in her medical practice, and the feint toward her helping Morgan with her skills as a therapist has promise. And Maggie stands vigil for Glenn, just in time for the lead into the next episode.
But this is a scattershot episode of The Walking Dead. It's squarely average for what this show is in its sixth season. There's still a bit of the bad, a bit of the good, and a lot of the middling and repetitive. It's a slower, workmanlike episode, with the only major fireworks being Spencer's little jaunt. It didn't give us much insight into the character, but instead circled around the theme of finding a reason to live and finding the people to do it with. Unfortunately, those are themes the show has hit more than a few times over the years, and it doesn't have much more to say at this point.
Now Shane would have been so proud! Don't you think?.. :)
Moegi is a pretty lame jonin to not be able to catch 2 genins. I can't imagine Kakashi would have ever had as much trouble back then
What's with all the hate towards the doctor throughout the series? It was first thought that he's been using Jessica's mom to kill people, but it turned out to be completely untrue and related to her own anger issues. He saved the lives of Jessica and her mom, then made huge progress on making her mom look normal again. He appeared to be genuinely in love with the mom. He cared for her despite her history of murder and violence, and he sedated her so she wouldn't keep attacking people. More often, he just talked to her and it calmed her down.
The real villain was Trish. She held the doctor at gunpoint, attacked Jessica's sidekick, completely disregarded Jessica's and her mom's plans to help the doctor, all just so she could be as strong as Jessica. She was completely out of her mind, simply because of her jealousy. It wasn't a sudden rush that could be explained by drug withdrawal.
What does Jessica do about it all? She blames the doctor and sees Trish as the victim. No wonder he cracked under the pressure and killed himself. He didn't deserve it. Trish would have, and it will be a total mess if Jessica starts bonding with her again in later episodes.
If this is good, guess I'm getting old. Terrible teenage drama.
I'm offended by this relatable content
